BARR’s Top Three in 2023—A Year in Review of Headlines, Accomplishments, and Resources

Another year has passed, and at BARR Advisory, we’re reflecting on a few of the most memorable moments on our team and in the world of security and compliance. While this year, we witnessed unparalleled events in cybersecurity, at BARR, we focused on growing lasting relationships with our clients and partners, tackling our efforts to build a more secure and resilient world head-on.

In 2023, we successfully completed hundreds of engagements; partnered with industry thought leaders for 10 successful events; featured 22 associates in news articles; and most importantly, witnessed our clients reach new and exciting milestones.

“BARR’s growth over the last year has been driven by our team’s eagerness to adapt and explore new avenues to help organizations anticipate and respond to threats and achieve their compliance goals,” said BARR Advisory Founder and President Brad Thies. “As BARR continues to grow, so does our passion for helping organizations build trust through cyber resilience.”

We’ve compiled a list of our top three highlights in headlines, accomplishments, and resources from the past year, and we’re thrilled to share our 2023 Year in Review with you. Let’s dive in.

Top Three Cybersecurity Headlines

SEC Adopts New Rules for Cyber Incident Disclosure

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently adopted new rules to enhance and standardize cybersecurity risk management, strategy, governance, and incident reporting disclosure practices by public companies and other market entities.

MOVEit Breach: 2023’s Biggest Hack

The MOVEit breach, which began in May of 2023, is considered one of the biggest hacks of the past decade, impacting over 60 million individuals. The data breach is still unfolding as we head into the new year, with more potential effects to come.

Adobe Zero-Day Vulnerability Exploited

In the fall of 2023, Adobe released a warning to its users about newly detected zero-day attacks. Adobe considers these attacks a critical vulnerability on their severity ranking, which means if exploited, the issue would allow for malicious native code to be executed, potentially without a user being aware. Check out BARR’s guidance on how to address the vulnerability.

BARR’s Top Three Accomplishments

BARR Named in Top 10 Fastest- Growing Businesses in Kansas City

BARR ranked 8th in Ingram’s 2023 Corporate Report 100 for the second year in a row. The 38th annual report from Kansas City’s premier business magazine puts a spotlight on the 100 companies based in the greater Kansas City area that experienced the most growth over a three-year period from 2019 to 2022. During this time, BARR saw growth of more than 529%—an average annual growth rate of just over 176%.

BARR Wins STEMMy Corporate Hero Award for Supporting Women in STEM

BARR was honored by Central Exchange for its active role in building up women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine in the greater Kansas City area through education, growth opportunities, flexibility, and camaraderie. At BARR, 57% of associates are women, 56% of the management team are women, and 50% of the leadership team are women—all with zero pay gaps.

BARR Offers New Resource for Students and Educators

BARR teamed up with a cohort of leading cybersecurity and technology solutions firms to release a collection of free videos aimed at educating middle and high school students about cybersecurity and internet safety. The new resources are designed to help educators spark thoughtful conversations with students in grades six through twelve about topics including digital citizenship, social media safety, and careers in cybersecurity and technology.